Remnants from a Cold War

When I was growing up we lived near Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis. In the 80s and somewhat beyond, it was the accounting center for the military- where all the checks were written and bills were paid- or at least this is what I remember about it.

In the early 80s a movie came out called "The Morning After" which detailed one scenario of what the earth would be like after a nuclear war - blackness, radiation, people who lived with complete lawlessness in order to survive -a veritable hell on earth.

Even though I was at a Catholic school and certainly believed in God on some level, the whole idea of dying young was frightening. When the movie came out, kids talked about it, and so did the teachers. Not long afterwards, there was an assembly at school for the older grades. It was explained to us in very matter-of-fact terms that should a nuclear bomb hit the nearest First Strike Target ( Fort Ben) that we would have nothing to worry about. The explosion and the subsequent firestorm would incinerate us - and there would be no lawless survivors among us. I think this was said to reassure us that we would be at peace and miss out on all the horrible things depicted by the film, but at 12, I don't think I ever let go of that sensation I had: leaned over with my legs crossed and my head resting on the inside wall of the hallway at school, covered by my arms for protection. During those drills, part of me accepted the inevitability of being blown away suddenly by a power that I had no control over. A little fatalistic, isn't it.

The battles of the Cold War and the ideology that Russia is the bastion of Evil in the world has faded out of popularity. We have new bad guys now which include folks from the Middle East, Somalia, North Korea and China- just to name a few. They are a little harder to characterize because their motivations are so diverse, but Terror Alerts tell us they are a threat - not as easy to fictionalize in a movie though- Russians are tough and sound menacing - just saying.

I was talking with a friend last night and when he asked about whether I believed that there were forces around us who could hurt us through an act of war, I had to say yes. I don't feel strongly about one particular threat, but rather, a nagging feeling that I should have things in order. I keep a stock of water, medicine and canned foods - though I didn't gather them for a coming war- but rather for emergencies like a flood or tornado when those resources might be needed. I have a couple of solar lanterns, some flashlights and radios which use solar or crank handles and some other alternative source items like battery powered chargers and sterno to cook with should we need it.

This begs the question: exactly how prepared should we be? Do I need to move away from the US to protect my family? Do I need a generator - a protected well- solar panels - a compound in Waco??? It is a tough question to answer, especially because I can not logically place a name on the nagging threat I think is coming - harder to prepare for something when you only have a generalized idea.

So I wonder - where is the "right" place between living completely off the grid, totally self sufficient but isolated.... and living in town with complete dependence on municipal utilities? There has to be a sweet spot.

I think farmers had it right: grow a garden and plant trees to sustain your famliy and enable you to control what you eat- have a back up generator or a root cellar in case you need one- have a back up plan for an emergency.

What do you think???